


Breathing

by sugargaze



Category: Tiny Meat Gang (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, BDSM, Boot Worship, Choking, Cum Eating, Face Slapping, Face-Fucking, Homophobic Language, Humiliation, Leather, M/M, Muscles, Neck Crushing, No Safeword, Spanking, Spit Kink, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Threats of Violence, Torture, Weed, Whipping, a lil Blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-07 09:20:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21455680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugargaze/pseuds/sugargaze
Summary: Shit gets weird at Noel's place after a change in plans.[Chapter 3 reuploaded 1/11/21]
Relationships: Cody Ko/Noel Miller
Comments: 7
Kudos: 68





	1. Inhale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Views expressed by Cody and Noel in this work are neither theirs nor my own.  
Please do not share this work or this concept with the boys.

N: You think- you think Facebook employees make fun of Zuck?

C: Oh, yeah, dude. For sure. Could you imagine working at that company and not just wanting to clown him all the time? He’s legit one of the weirdest people ever.

N: Yeah, I think so too. Super smart, obviously, but…

C: I… you know, conspiracy theory alert, but… I don’t think he’s even a real person. [laughing] I’m not sure he’s even capable of being offended by that shit. They probably don’t even bother to not use the company server.

N: [laughing] Now that you’ve said that we’re definitely going to meet him.

C: Oh, 100%, dude. 100%. That’s like, the only reason I name drop famous people on the podcast now is because I know it will ensure that we get to meet ‘em.

N: [Noel leaned away from the mic to laugh then leaned back] Oh shit, god, can you imagine?

C: The ol’ Zuckerino, in the flesh.

N: Mark… Mark Guckerberg of… of Fuckbook.

C: Nice, dude.

N: Thanks, man.

C: Mark Guckerberg of… face… of FaceFuckbook. [Cody looked at the camera and raised his eyebrows.]

N: There it is.

C: Got ‘em.

[The two grinned and played with their jeans. About 5 seconds of silence passed.]

C: [Cody abruptly sat up, animated] Alright guys, that’s it for us. New merch in the store, tickets still available…

[They both crumpled in laughter.]

N: Could you imagine if we ended the episode on that?

C: I mean… [Cody looked at his phone and sighed] fuck, we do actually have to go though.

N: [Noel squinted at the phone] Oh, shit. [He cackled hoarsely.]

C: So yeah, for real – new merch available, still some tickets available for the Canada shows, uh… make sure you’re following us on social media for updates, and uh… we… we appreciate you. We love you guys.

N: For sure, and uh… you know, stay… stay gucking.

C: [Cody let out an exasperated laugh] Or don’t, that’s fine too.

N: Yeah, I mean, guck rights.

C: Jesus… [Cody cradled his face in his palm] Ugh, okay. Bye, guys. Love you.

N: Peace!

Cody got up from the orange chair to turn the camera off at that same time that Noel’s phone rang.

“Oh shit, it’s Mahzahd. She’s probably pissed.”

Noel accepted the call. “Hey, I’m really sorry, we’re leaving now-”

Cody was wrapping up cords and setting them on the table. He’d become paranoid about water damaging their electronics after his place had flooded.

“Oh… okay, b-… because we were late, or-“

Cody stopped to look at Noel. “Is she pissed? What’s up?” he whispered.

Noel put his hand out as if to say stop and then gave the OK sign.

Cody whispered again, “Noel, what- what does that mean?”

Noel grimaced and covered the mouth piece with his hand. “Fucking chill out,” he said softly.

Noel turned around and put his hand on his hip. Cody shook his head and continued putting stuff away.

“Okay…” Noel said into the phone. “Jesus, that’s… no, I think your judgement is… yeah, that isn’t something we’d be willing to deal with. Even if… exactly… Okay, cool… yeah, no worries… okay… yeah, sounds good, you too… okay. Peace.”

Noel turned around and shoved the phone in his pocket.

“Dude…” he said slowly. “Guess what happened with the TV producer we were meeting today.”

Cody shook his head. “I… I don’t know, dude, are they okay? Did they get in a car accident or something?”

“Bro…” Noel scratched both sides of his head. “They caught a charge in a sex trafficking case involving minors.”

Cody’s eyes widened. “What the fuck? Are you serious?”

“Dead serious.”

Cody looked at the ground and looked back at Noel in shock. “Dude, what the fuck?”

“Crazy, right?” Noel said, still rubbing his scalp. “It’s what we always talk about, man: rich people love fucking kids.”

“Oh, god.” Cody recoiled and faked a retching sound. “So gross, man. I will never understand that shit, on, like, every level. Number one, why would you want to be with actual children, and two, how could you live with yourself? Like, how do these people sleep at night knowing they’re basically messing these kids up for life?”

“Dude, I know. Like, I… I’m a freak, but… it’s not even close, like… blech.” Noel stuck his tongue out in disgust.

“God, I know. Like, we're 90s kids so we were raised on internet porn or whatever, but… no. It’s not even comparable. I don’t even like hearing about it. I actually feel sick just from thinking about the fact that this guy exists and we could have gone into business with him.”

“I know. Shit’s crazy. We dodged a bullet for sure.”

Cody and Noel stood in silence for a moment, staring at the ground.

“Damn…” Cody was still struggling to process what just transpired, his arms tight across his chest. “I… I feel like I need a drink. My schedule is wide open now. You want to go somewhere?”

“Uh, actually, if you’re down, Aleena’s out of town and I got a surprise shipment this morning of alcoholic kombucha from the boy GT.”

“What? Why did he send it to you?” Cody whined, making Noel chuckle.

“It’s… dude. I think he just had to send it to one of us. Maybe Mahzahd told him between the two of us I was less likely to give myself alcohol poisoning with it.”

“Okay, you know…” Cody waved his hands around. “You have a fatal amount of alcohol in your system one time and suddenly everyone’s like, 'we can’t trust this guy with alcohol!' I’m sick of it.”

“Mmmm, yeah… that’s… mmmm, you’re definitely being oppressed here.”

Cody picked up his bag and shut off the lights.

“Let’s go get blasted, man.”

\---

Noel’s apartment looked a little different every time Cody was there. He always felt like he was dropped into one of those “Spot the Difference” games they put in children’s magazines and his task was to identify what was new or missing. This time he saw it almost as soon as they walked through the door.

“You guys got rid of the eat thing?” he asked Noel, sliding off his shoes.

“Uhhh…” Noel was in the Kitchen already, pulling out the case of kombucha. “What?”

“The thing, the letters… the E-A-T thing in the kitchen,” Cody repeated as he sunk into the couch, almost crushing Ollie and being immediately grateful that Noel was preoccupied.

“Oh, yeah. Aleena just got sick of it and donated it.” Noel walked over with the booze.

“You know, what you should have done… is rearrange the letters so it said tea… eh? T-E-A? Bet you didn’t think about that,” Cody teased, toasting a bottle to Noel.

“Wow, Cody, that’s… amazing. The power that has, the insight that has… we really need to consult you next time we change something in our place.”

Cody leaned back and kicked his legs up onto the coffee table, placing one hand behind his head. “Yeah, you know, it’s what I’m known for in the biz. I can have my manager get in touch with you, set something up.”

“Oh? What’s your managers name?” Noel pushed, playing along.

“Ah, you know,” Cody said, pausing to take a drink. “You wouldn’t know her, she’s… you know, she only deals with big time clients like me.”

Cody brought the kombucha to his lips again without breaking eye contact and Noel broke, causing Cody to choke and laugh through his nose.

“God, we are so fucking stupid,” Noel groaned.

Noel reached behind the couch and picked up a clear bong. He set it on the coffee table and walked towards the bedroom he shared with Aleena.

“Wow, that’s a sigg piece,” Cody ribbed.

“Thanks, Corbin. Means a lot from a pussy bitch like you.”

Cody smiled to himself and finished the first bottle of kombucha, reading the label.

“God, this shit fucks. You can’t even taste that it’s 10% ABV.”

Noel walked back into the living room with a small wooden box.

“You need anything before I sit down?” Noel asked. Cody could already smell the weed.

“No, I’m good man. I think these 10 bottles should last me for a little bit.”

Noel sat down next to Cody. “Can I try some of yours? I’ve actually never had it.”

Cody looked at Noel, offended. “You’ve never had kombucha?”

“No, I’ve had, like, the kind you get at the grocery store with the juices and stuff. I’ve never had this stuff.”

Cody nodded and handed him the bottle. Noel took a small sip.

“Oh, shit.” Noel’s face lit up. “Damn.” He took a larger gulp. “That shit’s fire.”

“It’s good right?” Cody felt validated.

“Definitely.”

Noel opened his stash box and rummaged through baggies. Cody watched as Noel removed the bowl from his piece and dumped the charred contents onto the coffee table.

“Don’t… tell Aleena I did that,” Noel muttered.

Cody watched as Noel removed a nug from a baggie and broke it into smaller pieces, and then those pieces into smaller pieces, and so on.

“You don’t use a thing? The turny thing?” Cody asked.

Noel grinned. “A grinder? No. I probably should, but… this is how I started when I was a teenager and I just kind of stuck with it. I think I like the ritual of it, and I feel like the fine… shred or whatever that you get from the grinder burns too fast. Also, I actually like the smell it leaves on your hands.”

Cody nodded, feeling the numbing of the booze creep on. “You know, it’s weird… for a long time my only experiences with weed were pretty negative, like it was either in the context of a crappy party or me trying it on my own and freaking out and hating it, but like, smelling it on you all the time… and I guess associating it with something positive, like our friendship or whatever… I like the smell now.”

Cody took a sip. Noel rubbed his fingers together to get most of the debris off and brought one of his hands near Cody’s face, careful not to touch him. His forearm barely grazed Cody’s chest and Cody leaned forward and inhaled. A look of contentment washed over his face and he nodded.

“Yeah, man. I’m into that. Sometimes I think about looking for a cologne that kind of smells like that but I don’t want people assuming I’m high all the time… more than they already do, anyway.”

Noel grinned and packed the bowl before dropping it in. He grabbed a torch and ran it over the surface as he inhaled, filling the chamber with white smoke as the piece bubbled. Cody watched Noel’s chest expand and watched him bring his head up in one fluid motion, eyes closed, motionless for a moment before exhaling slowly. Noel immediately brought his mouth down to clear the chamber and set the piece on the table before leaning back.

Cody emptied the second bottle of kombucha and opened another.

“God, this beats sitting in a fucking meeting.”

Noel shook his head. “You are not kidding, b.” Noel leaned forward to hit the bong again, this time slower to remove the torch. He realized and lifted the bowl but it was too late – the smoke that hit his lungs was thick and he coughed and shook his head.

“Fuck.” His voice was hoarse. “That’s the only shit…” Noel coughed into his shoulder. “That’s the only shit I don’t like about smoking with a piece, is your… your muscle… thing, your…”

Cody looked at Noel and could tell he was lightheaded. “You good?”

“Fuck…” Noel said, his voice even lower and now raspy from being torched from the hit. He grabbed a bottle of kombucha off the table and cracked it, taking a sip.

“Bruh…” Cody said with surprise. “You’re trying to get cross-faded right now?”

Noel shook his head. “Nah, man. I just needed something for my throat.”

He fingered the bowl and continued, “Man, how did I do that? I cashed that shit in two hits.”

While Noel was repacking, Cody pulled himself up and went to the fridge, grabbing two waters and bringing them back to the table.

“Thanks, dude.” Noel was sprinkling shatter on top of a new bowl.

“What’s the purpose of that?”

“It’s- hold on, let me hit this. I’m tired of being able to feel my face.”

Noel put his mouth to the piece, the torch now adjusted to provide a smaller flame. He inhaled and filled the chamber and cleared it in one go. He exhaled and closed his eyes, leaning back.

“So… what I just put on top is usually called shatter, it’s kinda the same thing as the resin that you’ll see build up on a pipe or whatever, but obviously… they have a more sophisticated process so there’s no, like, degradation or…” Noel trailed off.

Cody didn’t really get it. “Hmmm, okay.”

Noel continued, “It’s just concentrated weed, basically. The one that I have there is a high CBD strain. It’s called Cannatonic which is super lame but I add it to other strains I like to make the high less, like, you know, stimulating or whatever.”

Cody eyed Noel. “Oh, wow. You’re a… you’re a weedboy. You get, you get high on the weekends and watch 4k bong rips on the big screen?”

Noel groaned. “Stop, I hate that shit. I love weed, man, but weed culture… ugh. Just get faded and shut the fuck up, why you gotta be so extra about it? Nobody cares.”

“I’m fucking with you, man. I don’t… there’s nothing wrong with what you’re doing. You can rip that bong with your ass if you want, I won't judge.”

Noel chuckled and looked at Cody. “You should try it,” he said softly. “The blend, not the… not the ass rips or whatever.”

Cody scrunched up his face in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? You want me to smoke your cat- your cant- your Pentatonix super weed? When I’ve already been drinking? Do you hate me that much?”

Noel shook his head. “No, dude. This combo is…” Noel thought of the best way to describe it and settled on doing a chef’s kiss. “I wouldn’t tell you to do it if I thought it would hurt you.”

Cody thought about it for a second and crossed his arms. “I don’t know, man.”

“Don’t stress about it. I’m not trying to peer pressure you or whatever. I just, you know… I know you like to have a good time and, you know, I want you to feel good.”

Noel opened a water bottle, crushing half of it in one go. Cody watched Noel’s neck flex as he swallowed.

Cody sighed and put his kombucha down, gesturing to the bong.

“Okay, I’ll try it, but I don’t… I’ve never like, used a pipe like this before. I don’t know how to use it.”

Noel chuckled. “Okay, well, first of all, it’s a bong, you fucking narc.”

Cody threw his hands up by his head. “Oh, sorry I’m not a fucking, you know, weed expert. Sorry I don’t hang out on, like, iloveweedandcameras.org or whatever it is you do.”

Noel laughed and it turned into a wheeze and a cough.

“Okay, stay there, I know what to do.”

Noel dropped to his knees and scooted between Cody’s legs. He picked up the bong and raked the bowl lightly. He looked up at Cody.

“I’m going to hold it and light it and all that, all you have to is inhale when I tell you. Don’t overthink it.”

Cody nodded and leaned forward as Noel lifted the piece.

Noel slowly brought the torch over the bowl. “Inhale. Now. Harder.” Noel lifted the torch and the chamber continued to fill with smoke as the plant matter combusted. “Lift your head.” Cody complied, his eyes now closed. “Exhale slowly.”

Cody exhaled, his hand still on the piece, overlapping with Noel’s fingers to stabilize it. He felt his lungs contract at the end of his exhale. He coughed gently into his shoulder and cleared his throat.

“You good?” Noel asked.

Cody nodded. He leaned forward to clear the chamber. His felt like he could hear television static.

“Let’s do one more,” his voice already rougher after one hit. “Same thing.”

Noel repeated the process, holding the torch a little bit longer than he meant to when Cody inhaled. He dropped the torch and pulled out the bowl.

“Shit, head up.”

Cody had a pained look on his face.

“Oh… fuck…” he croaked before starting to exhale, coughing almost immediately.

Noel quickly cleared the chamber and set it on the table. Cody bypassed the water and reached for a kombucha, emptying the contents into his mouth and wincing.

“Ow, fuck.” Cody sputtered and coughed.

Noel sighed and squeezed Cody’s thighs. “Sorry, dude. You got charred. I’m… I’m high as shit so my reflexes aren’t great. I’m…”

Noel climbed back on the couch. Cody breathed deeply and leaned back into the sofa, first grabbing another bottle of kombucha.

“Yo…” Cody looked at Noel. “Yo, it obviously hasn’t totally hit me yet but this already feels way different than the last time I smoked.”

Noel smiled. “I told you, man.”

Cody and Noel sat in silence as the high set in.

“Damn,” Cody said, eyes half open. “I am feeling… no pain.”

He looked at Noel who was nursing a kombucha. “Did you take mine?”

Noel nodded. “Yeah, I’m… you shouldn’t finish this whole thing by yourself after those hits.”

Cody looked at Noel suspiciously. “What, and you should?”

Noel ignored Cody, instead rubbing his hand up and down his own arm, giving himself goosebumps.

“Yo, I can’t remember if we’ve talked about this… you ever have high sex?” Noel asked.

Cody thought about it, now slumped into the couch with his hands on his stomach. “I feel like… I feel like I tried once and it just didn’t… I think the one time I tried it I was like, too high? Like I was already uncomfortable.”

Noel nodded. “It’s crazy how different people react. Some dudes, like, can’t get hard, some dudes can get hard but can’t cum, some dudes it makes them cum almost immediately.”

“You think it’s the same for women?”

“I think so, yeah.”

Cody stared at his hands on his stomach, alternating flexing his fingers and making a fist.

“So, which one are you?”

“What?” Noel said.

“Which one… are you, like does it…”

“Oh,” Noel chuckled. “Oh, I’m- I’m team horny, all day.”

Cody laughed. “Really?”

“Oh yeah, like… not to be TMI but it’s annoying, you know? ‘cause a lot of the time when I’m getting high, it’s like… there’s a window to get high, but there’s no real… opportunity to nut, you know what I’m saying?”

“Mmmmm. Mmhmmm.”

They sat in silence for a minute until Cody broke through.

“Do you think… do you think the Guckerberg bit was too much? You think we should cut it?”

Noel furrowed his brow. “I… I don’t think so. I feel like we’ve said way crazier shit. What… what’s your issue with it?”

Cody was rubbing the sides of his neck and looking at the ceiling. “I don’t know, like… it just felt really explicit for some reason. Maybe because he’s a real person? I don’t know. I guess we did the cum in my ass bit really heavily and nobody complained.”

“One of my best,” Noel said proudly.

Cody continued, “This might sound crazy but... I think it’s the reference to facefucking that’s giving me pause.”

“Really?” Noel raised his eyebrows.

“Yeah, like… I think it’s because I associate it with like… you know that… ugh, you know that website, like, F*cial Ab*se or whatever? It comes up as an ad on the porn tube sites a lot.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen that.”

“I think it’s because I associate it with that which is just like, a degradation of women thing. It’s not like, an equal opportunity… I don’t know.”

Noel could see the gears turning in Cody’s head. Noel rubbed his hands over his face and tried to organize his thoughts.

“I don’t know, I think it’s hard because, like… I don’t think there’s anything wrong with facefucking necessarily, you know? Like, I wouldn’t think less of a guy who was into it because it’s just a… power and dominance thing which seems like a pretty normal sex thing that people have. But, I will say, that particular porn does make me mad uncomfortable too, so… I get it if, you know, you can’t break the association and you want to take the bit out, just so you don’t have to think about it anymore.”

Cody nodded but Noel wasn’t convinced he’d actually heard a single word. He seemed lost inside himself.

Ollie waltzed into the room and up to the couch. Noel picked him up and started playing with his ears.

“Have you ever done it?” Cody was looking at Noel now. “Face… you know, facefucking?”

“Me?” Noel laughed. “No, I’m… man, have we never talked about this?”

“I mean, we’ve talked about sex for sure.”

Noel shook his head. “No, like, I haven’t told you about what I actually like?”

Cody thought about it. “I mean, not specifically. I’m not sure when that would have come up.”

“I… I’m… I’m a sub, like I’m super submissive in bed, and like… a huge masochist, too, like it overlaps for me.”

There was a moment of silence while Cody processed.

“What?!” Cody’s voice pitched to a frequency Noel didn’t know adult men could make.

Noel clutched his chest, wheezing from laughter at Cody’s response.

“Wait, Noel, are you serious?” Cody was breathless with surprise.

“Yeah, dude.” Noel wiped tears from his eyes. “Your reaction is killing me. If only you fucking knew what a depraved piece of shit I was, dude.”

Cody looked at Noel in awe. “But you’re such a control freak, man. I never, like…”

“Uh, so are you, buddy. It’s like the number one conflict in our working relationship.”

Cody knew he was right.

Noel was chuckling to himself again. “Are you a sub, too? Are we just a couple of little bitch boys?”

Cody groaned. “Honestly, I wish. I’m… ugh, I’m so gross, dude. I’m like, a bad person.”

Cody was pulling threads from the rips in his jeans, battling with himself at the same time that the weed was peaking in his system. It wasn’t ideal.

At some point during the conversation Noel had started methodically running his fingers through his own hair.

Noel pressed Cody. “What do you mean?”

“Like… I like that, you know, hard, almost sadistic stuff. Like, facefucking but also... restraining people, choking… stuff like spitting and slapping and, like, saying awful shit… it sounds so fucking bad but I get off on people feeling, like, trapped and… and hurt and degraded and.. liking it.”

Cody groaned and leaned forward, pressing his palms to his forehead.

“Oh god, why did I tell you that?” he cupped his hands over his mouth and shook his head.

“Oh my god, this is so fucked up.”

Noel tried to reassure Cody. “Dude, it’s… listen. Look at me.”

Cody ignored him and pressed on, avoiding eye contact with Noel. “God, and it’s one of those things, like… the things that make me cum the hardest are the things that make me feel like a bad guy. I feel like a bad guy all the time. Like, I’ve never slapped someone in the face and spit on them, I’ve never, you know, facefucked someone. It’s fucked up. Especially because I exclusively date women, like, it’s fucked up. I feel like they get, like, degraded and harassed all the time, why would they want someone to then do that to them sexually? Like, it’s fucked up. And… and I never believe women in the rare occasion when they volunteer and tell me they do like it, which I know is also fucked up. like, who am I to think that I know what they want better than them, so I just never get to fucking do the shit that actually gets me off.”

It was probably the drugs, but Cody’s words made Noel feel as though his brain was lit on fire.

“Cody, I… I don’t know how to, like, make this clear to you, but I feel like there’s two things happening here. Hear me out.”

Noel took a deep breath and tried to collect his thoughts.

“What I’m hearing is you feel weird about being a dominant sadist or whatever, I don’t know what you personally call it and that’s your shit, but it seems like most of your shame has to do with you not being comfortable acting that shit out with women because you know that women get so mistreated all the time in nonsexual contexts, and like, I get that, but that in itself should be a sign for you that you’re not actually a bad dude.”

Cody looked at Noel briefly and then looked away, shaking his head.

“And honestly, I don’t know how to fix that for you. I wish I could. But I’m also hearing you feel... worried that I now know this thing about you. Do you really think I’d judge you for it? It’s just the other side of the coin of my stuff, like…”

Noel exhaled. “Look, you want to hear something fucked up? I’ll raise you one further, maybe this will make you feel better. I’m, you know, I’m attracted to women, don’t really find male bodies attractive, but part of my thing is... I like being mistreated and dominated and I don’t really fucking care if that person is male or female. Like, my sexual orientation is towards women, but my actual kink isn’t a woman beating the shit out of me, it’s just, you know, getting absolutely torn apart in some way by anyone. I’ve never actually tried it with a guy, but… I can tell you based on, like, fantasies and dreams that I have… I’m, you know… it’s all the same to me.”

Noel felt like timed stopped after his confession. All he could think to do was look down and pet Ollie.

Noel looked up and Cody was frozen in place, taking slow deep breaths.

“Cody?” Noel said softly. “Are you okay? Are you freaking out?”

Cody looked at Noel, face blank, his eyelids betraying how fucked up he was.

“Hey, Noel?” Cody said softly, his usual gentle tone muddied by irritation from the smoke. “I’m going to ask you a question and I need you to answer it directly. Don’t move, and don’t say anything else.”

Noel felt every hair on his body stand on end. Ollie jumped off of his lap and ran into his and Aleena's bedroom.

“What’s your safe word, Noel?”


	2. Exhale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the tags for content warnings.

“I’m going to ask you one more time, and if you don’t respond, we’re just gonna go without, Noel.”

Noel loved the way his name sounded coming out of Cody’s mouth. Cody’s voice wasn’t deep or gravely like his, it was higher, softer, and it had a resonance and a swing to it that made everything he said sound like a schoolyard taunt.

Cody removed his watch, a gift from Kelsey that he cherished. He held it in his hand and looked at the face before standing up and placing it in the kitchen. He shuffled back to the coffee table and started gathering the bottles and clearing everything off.

He had some ideas of things he wanted to do to Noel, but none of them included broken glass.

Noel was still on the sofa motionless. His eyes were tracking Cody but his body wasn’t moving and he wasn’t speaking. Cody made some calculations in his head and decided to move the coffee table, giving them a totally open space. He thought about putting a blanket on the floor, for blood or spit or… other things, but he preferred the idea of making a mess and then forcing Noel to clean it.

Cody put his hands on his hips and looked at Noel. Noel was looking back but Cody wasn’t sure if he was actually registering what was happening, or understood completely what was about to happen.

Cody walked up to Noel and to Noel it felt like slow motion. Cody was wearing low-rise light wash jeans that perfectly accentuated his hips and thighs and were slashed at the knee. He was barefoot and he wore a sheer white tee without an undershirt.

Everyone thought Cody had a great chest, but maybe Cody thought so most of all.

Cody reached Noel and slowly leaned over, placing his hands on Noel’s thighs and shifting all his body weight forward and onto them. He dug his fingers into Noel as much as he possibly could through the smaller man’s jeans and angled his face so he was speaking directly into Noel’s ear.

“What’s your fucking safe word, Noel?” he asked gently, the heat of his breath seemingly breaking the spell as he felt Noel’s quads flex and release under his palms. Cody waited for a response, arms starting to burn from the grip and the pressure, but still Noel offered nothing.

Cody stood up and crossed his arms across his chest. Noel had never felt Cody to be threatening but something about the way he held himself now made him look incredibly powerful.

“Stand up, man,” Cody said plainly as he raked back his hair. “Take off everything except your boxers.”

Noel stripped and left his clothes on the ground. He immediately felt cold even though the apartment wasn’t.

“I’m going to ask you some simple questions,” Cody said sternly.

“Look at me. What’s your name?”

Noel had been staring at the ground. He lifted his head to meet Cody’s intense gaze.

“Noel Miller.”

“And where are we right now, Noel Miller?” Cody probed.

“We’re in my apartment.”

Cody was testing to see Noel’s response time. He had to know that Noel was there with him and knew exactly what was going on. They were already playing with fire.

“What’s my name?”

“Cody K*l*dziejzyk,” Noel stated.

“What were we doing the first time we met in person?”

“Working as engineers.”

Cody nodded. “And what am I going to do to you now?”

Noel held Cody’s gaze without blinking, the green in Cody’s eyes amplified by the bloodshot.

“You’re going to destroy me, hopefully.”

Cody’s jaw clenched and his arms tightened across his chest as he fought to contain the rush of adrenaline that swept over him.

“Stay here.”

Noel acquiesced. Cody took a second to put his boots back on and grabbed a leather belt from Noel’s discarded clothes.

Cody positioned himself in front of Noel who was now nervously flexing and clenching his fist. Cody had a vague idea of the kind of treatment Noel would like based on their conversation.

“Noel, do you have any hard limits?”

Cody watched Noel’s chest compress quickly like he was suppressing a laugh. “I don’t, no.”

Cody then blinked slowly and gave in to a smile that showed all his teeth. It scared the shit out of Noel. Cody had the same vibe as a dog that bares his teeth to warn before he bites.

“In that case, I need you to do something for me before we start,” Cody said casually.

Cody sat down on the couch and leaned back, stretching his legs out a little, his boots resting near Noel’s bare feet. Cody cocked his head to one side and clasped his hands together in his lap.

“I need you to clean my boots for me, Noel, and I want you to use your mouth.”

Noel wasn’t sure what he had expected Cody to start with. He had no frame of reference for how hard Cody would push him or how weird things were going to get. They didn’t do the prep work you’re supposed to do before you experiment with a new person. It was dangerous and terrifying and that made it better for him, and he hoped Cody felt the same way.

Noel got down on his hands and knees and lowered his upper body even further. He closed his eyes and extended his tongue and did one slow lick from the toe of Cody’s boot to the heel. It tasted like leather and solvent and dirt.

He went in for another when he felt Cody’s hand in his short hair, grabbing and pulling Noel’s head up to face him, craning Noel’s head back as far as his neck would flex. Cody’s eyes were dark but his face was relaxed and pleasant. 

“Make sure you really get a good shine going,” Cody taunted.

Cody shoved Noel’s head down roughly and released him, sitting back on the sofa again. Noel committed to pleasing Cody, covering every inch of the black boots with his tongue, going over the surface as many times as he needed to create a sheen.

Cody watched as Noel licked his boots. The fact that Noel was licking an extension of him but he couldn’t feel it was maddening. He loved the revulsion in Noel’s face and the fact that he kept going anyway. Sometimes when Noel would pull back from the boot to assess his progress, a rope of saliva would trail.

Eventually Noel rocked back to sit on his knees.

“I’m done,” he announced. He stared at his work, his mouth still overwhelmed with the taste.

Cody examined the boots, reaching down to run his fingers across the surface. The boots were wet and sticky.

He looked at Noel for a moment in total silence, building tension and suspense that made Noel feel both sick and excited with fear. Cody eventually stood up without acknowledging Noel’s achievement.

“Lay down on your back,” he ordered, pointing to the floor. “Don’t open your eyes unless I tell you to.”

Noel positioned himself on his back, scooting a little farther from the sofa. He laid completely still and waited for Cody. The instructions were simple enough but he failed to close his eyes.

“Close your fucking eyes, Noel,” Cody reminded him through gritted teeth.

Cody beamed when he saw Noel comply, the thinner man looking especially small and vulnerable on the floor as he stood over him.

“Try not to scream, okay?”

Noel’s breath caught in his chest. He heard Cody’s footsteps come closer to his head and he heard Cody’s breath get faster. Noel’s senses were amplified, heart already racing as he tried to predict what was coming in order to prepare himself. He heard Cody move slightly and he felt a foreign sensation on his neck, but no pain or pressure. His brow furrowed as he fought the urge to move his hands to investigate. It wasn’t warm like a body part or uniform like a collar or restraint. He was at a loss.

Cody took a deep breath and stabilized himself on the arm of the sofa. He began to slowly apply pressure, the sole of his left boot pressing into Noel’s neck with his heel still on the ground.

Within seconds Noel gasped and his eyes flew open. Cody was looking straight down on him as he increased pressure, some of his hair hanging down and framing his face. Noel’s breathing quickly became labored and pinched as Cody pushed to see what Noel could take. Several times Noel’s hands came up as if to protect himself but he didn’t dare touch Cody. It was incredibly painful for Noel, more than any hand or belt he’d had around his neck, due to the hardness and rugged texture of the sole. The more Noel tried to move, the deeper he felt the boot digging in.

Cody maintained the pressure and watched Noel’s face, the smaller man’s eyes now wet with tears. He watched Noel’s chest rise and fall to make sure he was breathing. He looked at Noel’s arms, one hand’s fingers twitching and the other lifting off the floor repeatedly like he couldn’t decide what to do with it. Cody knew this was dangerous - that was the point.

When he felt Noel had suffered enough, Cody slowly eased up on the pressure and removed the boot entirely. He stayed looming over Noel and smiled sweetly.

“That was fun, huh?”

Noel glared up at Cody without saying anything. He lightly touched his neck to see if he was bleeding and felt relieved to only find deep imprints. It was definitely _fun_ in the sense that blood had rushed to his dick, but it was decidedly _not fun_ in the sense that a sneeze from Cody probably would have destroyed his trachea.

“Okay, you fucking baby,” Cody negged. “Why don’t you get on the couch and lay on your stomach?”

Noel managed to climb onto the couch despite practically vibrating with adrenaline. His body was numb in some places and not in others and it made the whole situation feel even more surreal. He laid with his legs and torso flush to the couch surface and rested his head on his arms. He reached down his front and tried to adjust himself so he wasn’t crushing his growing erection. Cody ignored it and picked up Noel’s shirt, draping it over the prone man’s head.

“What? Why?” Noel protested.

“Shush.”

It was silent for a moment, just the sound of him and Cody breathing heavily, until Noel heard a faint metal clink. He began to take deep breaths to brace himself.

Cody stood over Noel and awed at his back. His skin was beautifully olive and clear and his leanness allowed every striation of every muscle and every vertebrae on his spine to show through. Cody grasped the belt in his right hand, holding the two ends to make a shorter strap. He gently ran the leather across Noel’s exposed skin.

“Try not to move, for your own sake,” Cody said, voice soft and melodic again. The casual and friendly tone was unsettling to Noel in the context of what was happening.

Cody stood askew of Noel and tried to determine the correct angle to make contact with the man’s skin without hitting the couch. He then wound his arm back and used all his force to snap the belt down on Noel’s back.

The belt made contact, creating a loud smack and causing Noel’s whole body to flex and twist against the couch. Cody placed his hand firmly on Noel’s lower back to still him.

Cody reached back and brought the belt down again, leaving a new mark next to the previous. He watched the welt appear almost instantly and took it as a sign of improved form. Noel ground his hips into the sofa.

“Don’t do that, Noel,” Cody warned, his voice now stern. “I see what you’re doing.”

Cody brought the belt down on Noel’s back repeatedly until there was no real estate left, but Cody didn’t feel satisfied. He looked at Noel’s ass and legs. He ran his left hand over Noel’s ass with little response, but Noel’s body trembled when Cody touched the back of his thighs.

Cody brought the belt down on Noel’s thighs and one leg slipped off the couch from the way his body lurched forward. Noel whimpered for the first time.

Cody leaned down and spoke softly into Noel’s ear, making Noel’s eyes roll back.

“Control yourself, man. All you need to do is take this fucking belt like the little bitch you are. Is that really so hard?”

Cody stood up and brought the belt down on Noel’s back where he had already struck. Noel’s body lurched violently again and he ground his hips into the couch. Cody looked at the skin where the strikes overlapped and saw pinpricks of blood.

“If you can’t control yourself, I’ll put my fucking boot on your back and keep you still. Do you understand?” Cody’s voice was harsh now.

Noel didn’t respond. Cody grabbed the waist band of Noel’s boxers and roughly pulled it below his ass. Noel groaned in a way that sounded like pure dread.

Cody sized up Noel’s ass and then smacked it as hard as he could with his dominant hand. Noel’s cheeks clenched and his hips bucked forward, his breath catching in his chest. Cody shook his head in frustration but realized immediately that he had underestimated the utility of traditional spanking. He continued to spank Noel until the entirety of his cheeks were red and raw and hot to the touch. He didn’t think he could strike Noel’s body anymore without bringing up skin so he shifted course.

Cody grabbed Noel’s cheeks and kneaded them in his hands, pushing them towards each other then spreading them apart. He watched Noel bunch his shoulders while he did this, fearful of what Cody was planning.

Cody suctioned the inside of his mouth to pull saliva onto his tongue. All at once he gripped Noel’s raw cheeks and pressed firmly on Noel’s asshole with his tongue.

Noel moaned and rocked back on Cody’s tongue and then down into the sofa.

Cody straightened up and felt betrayal, like Noel had somehow misled him with his body language. Cody lifted his knee up high and placed his boot on Noel’s upper back, pressing down as hard as he thought he could without breaking something inside of the desperate man.

“Owrrgrh, fuck,” Noel rasped out.

“You think I feel bad for you? ‘cause I don’t,” Cody chirped matter-of-factly.

Cody pressed down on Noel’s lower back with one hand and used the other to lightly caress the inside of Noel’s upper thigh. He then started progressively squeezing the fat and muscle as hard as he could, wanting to see what kind of mark he could leave before Noel tried to tap out.

Noel groaned from deep in his throat and his hips rocked abruptly forward. Cody heard Noel’s breath catch in his chest and he felt the small muscles in Noel’s lower back contract and undulate. Cody had underestimated the extent of Noel’s masochism and had accidentally brought him to climax while trying to torture him.

He let go of Noel’s thigh and lifted his hand from Noel's lower back. He eased off of the boot and stepped back to watch Noel, now completely still other than his shaky breathing and a muscle in the leg Cody grabbed that continued to twitch involuntarily. Noel gave no acknowledgement of what had happened. Cody couldn’t tell if Noel knew that Cody knew he had cum.

“Get up,” Cody ordered. Noel pushed himself up and pulled the back of his boxers up. His face was burning hot from shame and he was sweating from exertion.

Cody looked at Noel without really seeing him, running scenarios through his head. Noel used this time to assess Cody. His hair was wild and stuck to his face at the perimeter from perspiration. His eyes were clearer now but his pupils were still shot, either from arousal or the weed or both. All of Cody’s exposed skin was flushing pink and the veins in his arms and neck were pronounced. The white shirt was sticking to his chest and midsection and his jeans had fallen slightly, exposing the definition of his hips. Noel’s eyes settled on Cody’s erection for longer than he’d like to admit.

“Whatcha lookin’ at, bud?” Cody teased, interrupting Noel and now standing as close to him as he could without touching him. “You admiring my dick? It’s not bad, right? Way better than yours, obviously. Pretty much anyone’s is.”

Cody was waiting for a reaction that Noel wasn’t going to give him. He reached out to touch Noel’s chest gently before grabbing the man firmly by the throat.

Cody was taking great joy in demeaning Noel, more than he could ever have imagined.

“Wow, that’s so crazy that you’re such a little bitch that I can just do whatever I want to you and you take it. I love that for us,” Cody said with faux excitement.

With Noel’s neck still gripped in one hand, Cody brought his other gently to caress Noel’s stomach. Cody trailed his hand down and reached into Noel’s boxers, being careful not to touch Noel directly yet. He watched Noel, the man’s face tense from being lightly choked.

In one fluid movement Cody gripped Noel at the base of his deflating cock and pumped once. It was enough to pull a shudder out of Noel and cause his hips to buck backwards to evade the sensation, but Cody still had him firmly around the neck. Cody’s hand resumed working in Noel’s boxers but he was doing something else, his touch confusing in how indirect and gentle it was.

Cody removed his hand from Noel’s crotch and held it up between them. He had covered his fingers in as much of Noel’s cum as he could.

“Relax your mouth,” Cody ordered.

Noel separated his bite and created room in his mouth. Cody pushed four fingers in at first, depositing the bulk of Noel’s cum into his mouth. Noel closed his eyes. Cody’s fingers tasted like sweat and cum like he imagined they would, but they also tasted of leather and a generic sweetness. Cody pulled his fingers back and pushed in again with just his longest two, testing Noel’s tolerance and reflex. He slowly slid his fingers along Noel’s tongue and crept down his throat, anticipating the moment when he would feel Noel’s throat seize and try to eject Cody, but that moment never arrived.

Cody was mesmerized by the texture of Noel’s mouth and he struggled to think of something comparable. Noel was enjoying the violation, neither of them phased by the drool running down his chin and Cody’s wrist. Noel shifted his mouth to create suction so he could swallow and the feeling of wet muscles sliding together drew a gravely hum from Cody’s throat. He looked away from Noel’s mouth where he had been focused and met Noel’s eyes.

Noel winked. He knew immediately that he had fucked up.

Without a word, Cody removed his fingers and put them back in again, palm up this time while he tightened his grip on Noel’s neck. He angled his digits so his fingernails were against the top of Noel’s mouth and proceeded to drag them against the sensitive membrane as slowly as he could until he reached Noel’s front teeth. Noel tried to raise himself up on his toes to escape the sensation but Cody had him trapped. Noel’s eyes rolled back in his head and he whimpered pathetically until Cody was finished. Cody let go of Noel’s neck to give him a break and the man’s body swayed as Cody forcefully wiped the spit from his hand all over Noel’s chest.

Cody stared at Noel’s face afterwards, the thinner man’s eyes shut and his brow still furrowed from trying to recover from the jarring sensation he just felt. Cody slowly brought his hands up to Noel’s face, the touch startling Noel at first. Cody cradled Noel’s face and Noel leaned into Cody’s touch, rubbing his cheek against Cody’s surprisingly soft hands. Noel was grateful for a moment of gentle sensory input, but he knew what was coming.

Cody slowly moved his hands down from cupping Noel’s face and pushed on Noel’s shoulders, forcing him to his knees. Cody ran his left hand through Noel’s hair, raking his fingertips against Noel’s scalp until the kneeling man’s eyes fluttered shut. Cody was trembling slightly but trying very hard to hide it.

Cody grabbed Noel’s hair in his left hand and used it as leverage to force his head back. Cody ran his right hand under Noel’s chin and down the front of his neck, feeling all the muscles and ligaments at full tension. He brought his hand back to Noel’s face, softly caressing Noel’s cheek, then without warning delivered an open handed blow at full force to the man’s face. The force of the hit was enough for Noel to crumple over and momentarily lose his vision.

It was silent for a moment and then Noel laughed darkly as he straightened up. He’d been suppressing his brattiness all day and that hit knocked something loose.

“You better fuck my face now, you fucking pussy. ‘Cause when you hit me again, it’s gonna kill me, and then it’ll be a felony when you cum in me.”

Cody guffawed. “’Wow, get a load of this guy!’ You think you’re gonna talk shit to me, Noel?”

“Uh, I don’t know, Cody. There’s no cock in my mouth to stop me, so…”

Cody shook his head in disbelief and moved even closer to Noel until he was basically on top of him.

“You know, I was trying to help you out, Noel. I was going to get all my violent shit out so I could just jerk off on your face or something and I’d be satisfied… but now? I’m pissed and I’m gonna make you gag on my shit. You’re gonna wish I kept that fucking boot on your neck, you stupid fucking whore.”

Cody meant it. His hard cock was already out by the time he was done talking and he stroked it slowly while maintaining eye contact with Noel.

“Open your mouth,” Cody demanded gruffly.

Noel continued looking up at him, a slight grin on his face, and slowly shook his head without saying a word.

Cody let go of his dick and got in Noel’s face, grabbing him by the throat and squeezing tighter than he had all day.

“You’re gonna take my fucking cock in your mouth right now or I’m going to fuck your face up so badly that you won’t even have the option of closing that f*ggot mouth.”

Cody punctuated his threat by pushing Noel with his hand still on his throat, forcing Noel to fall backwards. Noel rasped in pain and pawed at his neck but clambered back to his knees in front of Cody as fast as he could. Noel didn’t think Cody _would_ rearrange his face, but he knew that Cody _definitely could_, and that scared him and turned him on enough to give Cody whatever he demanded.

Cody was stroking his cock again, just barely applying pressure. Noel watched for a second and then brought his hands to Cody’s hips and lowered the man’s jeans and boxers a little more to expose Cody’s balls.

He wasted no time and leaned in, licking along the seam of Cody’s sack. He heard a sharp inhale from Cody and repeated the motion. He then felt the man’s hands on the back of his head.

“Take them in your fucking mouth.”

Cody let go of his cock and Noel took up charge, gently pressing it up against Cody’s abdomen to give himself better access to what he needed. He drenched Cody’s balls in spit, alternating taking them in his mouth and sucking and sliding his tongue against them.

“Oh, fffff - that’s a good boy,” Cody mumbled.

Noel then pumped Cody’s dick and went to lick along the shaft, but Cody quickly grabbed both of his wrists and moved them away from his body with an iron grip. He was squeezing Noel’s wrists so hard he was sure something would fracture. He made unflinching eye contact with Noel, thinking and clenching his jaw before he spoke.

“I know you’re a little slut who loves worshipping cocks, Noel, but that’s not what this is, not even a little bit. This is not a loving blow job that you’re giving to your boyfriend,” Cody explained, finally dropping Noel’s wrists. Noel just looked at him blankly, refusing to give Cody any satisfaction.

“Do you understand what I’m saying, Noel? I’m going to fuck your face now,” Cody explained.

Without another word he roughly stuck his fingers in Noel’s mouth and separated the man’s bite. He quickly replaced his fingers with his cock and pushed himself into Noel’s mouth. Cody had his hands on Noel, holding him still so that he alone controlled the action.

He was only half-way into Noel’s mouth while he shifted his stance to find the best angle. Noel’s hands were on his thighs now, rubbing firmly on the outside of his legs where the most pronounced muscle was. Noel looked up at Cody and Cody felt for a second like he was being worshiped, which was nice in its own way, but not what he really wanted.

Cody kept one hand on the top of Noel’s hair, gripping tightly for leverage, and brought the other to the back of Noel's head. He pushed forward slowly and attempted to get all of himself in Noel’s mouth.

“Ugggggh, fuck… fucking take my cock in your throat, Noel.”

He made it about 80% in before he felt Noel’s throat contract and Noel’s fingers grip onto his thighs. He backed off slightly but began to make thrusts just shy of the limited he’d hit.

Cody leaned his head back and exhaled harshly through gritted teeth as he tried to restrain himself. He thought about how to verbally tease Noel for not being able to take it all (yet) but his skull felt like it was filled with cotton.

He looked down at Noel again and tried to push his way in, thinking he’d make a little bit of progress, and instead let out a soft gasp when he felt Noel’s lips at the base of his cock.

“Oh, fuck,” he whined in a high voice under his breath. He held himself deep in Noel’s throat for a couple seconds, knowing full well that the kneeling man couldn’t breathe.

Noel’s throat abruptly seized and the man gagged. Cody loved the sensation of the muscles struggling to accommodate him but he took pity and pulled all the way out, pulling an excess of saliva out of Noel’s mouth. He lightly stroked his cock while he watched Noel gather himself.

“Fuck,” Noel exclaimed breathlessly. He coughed, the back of his throat feeling stressed already.

“You drowning in that deep throat spit, Noel?” Cody teased. “That good ol’ guck spit?”

Noel shook his head and signaled Cody to continue without a word. The quality of Cody’s dirty talk had deteriorated rapidly and Noel wanted to spare them both.

Cody returned to Noel’s mouth, this time focusing less on deep-throating and more on a rhythm that would allow him to cum, though Cody couldn’t resist forcing himself all the way into Noel a couple times. At one point he had himself all the way inside of Noel and he was able to feel with a hand on the front of Noel’s neck the way that the man’s throat had stretched to accommodate him. This began the ramping of the tension at the base of his spine and he knew it wouldn’t be long.

Cody’s movements became faster and more intentional as he cared even less about depth, just wanting the friction he needed to cum. He grew to love just the feeling of hitting the back of Noel’s mouth, just before the point at which it would interrupt his breathing.

Spit was dripping out of Noel’s mouth now, some making it’s way to his chest as Cody’s grip on Noel progressively tightened.

“Oh, fucking... ohhh... oh, fuck… yeah, you better take my fucking cock in your fucking whore mouth, Noel. Mmm, you gonna swallow all my fucking cum? You want my cum deep in your fucking throat?”

Cody’s breath rapidly hastened, interspersed with pathetic and whiny “oh fucks” until suddenly Cody pressed his pelvis as hard against Noel’s face as he could without warning, gripping Noel tightly on his cock so the man couldn’t pull away. Noel could feel under his hands now on Cody's ass that every muscle in his body had tensed up at once. Cody let out a deep guttural moan as hips rocked gently in staccato and he came deep down Noel’s throat.

“Oh my fucking god,” Cody growled through clenched teeth. He gave one last thrust all the way into Noel before pulling out slowly, his chest shuddering and his hands shaking.

The intensity of his climax made him feel lightheaded and he struggled to slow his breathing. He clumsily brought himself down to the floor in one motion, his brain not working properly.

“Jesus...” His chest was heaving and he was covered in sweat, laying on his back now with his eyes closed. His pants and his boxers were still down.

Noel was sitting on his heels, still bracing himself on his thighs to catch his breath and trying to relax the muscles in his throat, neck, and back that had seized up in his attempts to neither vomit nor pass out.

He looked over to see Cody laying on his back and crawled over and laid down next to him.

During the course of having Cody’s fingers and cock in his mouth, Noel had become hard again. The sensations he felt all over his body, feeling Cody’s hands gripping him and hurting him, had brought him embarrassingly close to cumming with even less stimulation than before.

“Cody…” he said hoarsely. I need to make myself cum. Can I make myself cum?”

Cody lazily turned his head and flopped the back of his forearm against Noel’s midsection.

"God, of course. I want you to come,” Cody said slowly, softly. “I want you to cum for me again.”

Noel already had his hands in his boxers and stroked himself rapidly, feeling almost immediately like he was on the edge of orgasm.

“Oh god, thank you. Fucking... thank you, Cody. Thank you for letting me cum."

Then with a couple sharp breaths and a whimper, Noel’s body flexed and seized, his head and shoulders raising slightly off the ground and his knees bending slightly, muscles in his abs and thighs noticeably flexing as he came on his stomach.

“God… fuck…” he whispered as he continued to stroke himself gently post-climax.

Cody had been watching Noel the whole time. He now remembered that he himself was exposed and he reached down to tuck himself back into his boxers, now cringing at the stickiness. He zipped up his jeans and turned his body onto his side, resting his head on an outstretched arm. He reached slowly to place a hand on the far side of Noel’s face, gently turning the man to face him.

Noel should have felt fear or anticipation from Cody’s touch at this point, but whatever chemical or sequence that was responsible for that was no longer functioning.

“Hey…” Cody said, gently caressing Noel’s cheek with his thumb, his own eyes only half open. “Can we, like… lay down? Like, in your bed? Can we take a nap together?”

Noel’s eyes were closed now and his breathing was slowing. “I’m… let’s rest here for a second and then we’ll… we’ll rest there... okay?”

Cody nodded wordlessly, not thinking about the fact that Noel couldn’t see him, and he allowed his eyes to drift shut with his hand still resting on Noel’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read and recommended this insanity.


	3. Tallahassee (reupload)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Make sure you've read Chapters 1 & 2. This is absolutely not a standalone chapter.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 is back, baby. Sorry I'm a nightmare.

After falling into a strange twilight sleep, Noel awoke to a gentle pressure on his neck. He opened his eyes to see that Cody had passed out next to him and at some point the man’s hand had fallen from cradling Noel’s face to a resting across his trachea. He looked past Cody and out the window to see that the sky was a swirl of colors as the sun was setting.

Noel gently lifted Cody’s hand and lightly shook him on the shoulder.

“Hey,” Noel whispered, his throat feeling worse now as swelling set in.

Cody’s eyes drifted open and he looked at Noel. He took a deep breath and slowly turned himself onto his back. He lightly rubbed the arm he had been laying on.

“Mmm… my arm is asleep,” he muttered drowsily.

Noel pushed himself up to a sitting and then a standing position, wincing as the movement stressed the tender skin on his back and thighs.

He shuffled into his bedroom and heard Cody grumble behind him. Noel made a beeline straight for the bed and gingerly laid himself onto his back, sighing as his welts made contact with the cool sheets. Cody attempted to follow suit.

“Hey, wait,” Noel rasped before Cody could lay down. “Can you bring me the metal box on the dresser?”

Cody picked up a small tin box not much larger than a deck of cards. He brought it to Noel, placing it tenderly on Noel’s exposed stomach and causing Noel’s breath to catch from the sensation of the cold metal.

“Thanks, man,” Noel whispered.

Cody walked to the foot of the bed and sat down with his back to Noel. He lazily leaned forward and unlaced his boots before kicking them off. He then twisted around and climbed up the bed until he was parallel with Noel. He collapsed gracelessly face-first into a pillow, his jeans still hanging on his hips.

Noel stifled a small laugh as he lit a joint from the box.

“Are you laughing at me?”

Cody's speech was almost totally obscured by the down pillow under his face.

“I am, actually,” Noel rasped, exhaling. “I'm not sure why you’re so fucking tired.”

Cody turned his head so he could rest while still being able to see Noel’s face, keeping one eye closed.

“I can’t believe what a brat you are,” Cody said with gentle awe.

Noel raised his eyebrows. “I can’t believe you feel like you’re in a position to judge any part of me right now.”

Cody maneuvered his arms under the pillow to get more comfortable and opened both eyes now to watch Noel as the man pulled smoke into his lungs.

“I mean… I told you who I was, right? Were you really surprised?”

Cody’s voice had a fear and vulnerability to it that caught Noel off guard.

“I’m not… that wasn’t me calling you out or asking you to apologize, man. You didn’t do anything wrong. Or, I mean, you technically did, but I did just as much, you know? It’s like we were actively trying to act out whatever the opposite of ‘Safe, Sane, and Consensual’ is.”

Noel paused to take another hit.

"I'm fucking with you."

Cody reached out to take the joint from Noel.

“I can’t remember what strain it is,” Noel admitted.

Cody grimaced. “I’m so past the point of caring right now. I usually don’t like feeling like I’m being sucked into the underworld, but I’d rather feel anything other than this right now. Satan is more than welcome to come for me.”

Noel turned to watch Cody as he took several hits, eyes closed, filling his chest until he coughed.

“Wow, look at you, man,” Noel teased hoarsely, taking the joint back.

Cody lay silently with his eyes closed for several minutes and Noel assumed he had fallen back into that space between sleep and awake. Noel finished the joint and put the lighter back in the box before placing it carefully in the space between him and Cody.

“Jesus Christ,” Cody said suddenly, eyes still closed. “What the fuck did we do?”

Noel stared at the ceiling and tried to wrangle his thoughts into something comprehensible. “I don’t… I honestly don’t know. This is in some ways so much more complicated than if we had just been on some gay shit and hooked up like normal people.”

The loudest silence Cody had ever heard played between them for several minutes.

“How’s your back?” he asked.

Noel brought a hand to his forehead. “Honestly, my back, my ass, my legs… they feel almost burnt. It’s hard to describe. I’m lowkey scared that the skin is more broken than I think and it’s going to stick to the sheets.”

Cody felt his stomach turn over. He opened his eyes to look at Noel.

“God, I think I busted your lip with that hit, too. And your neck… Jesus fuck. I’m… I told you, man.”

They sat in silence again, Noel having neither resentments nor reassurances for Cody.

“When does Aleena come back?”

Noel narrowed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair as he thought about it.

“She won’t be back for another couple of days but here’s no way this shit will be healed by then. … Damn, even if I was somehow able to weather the emotional toll of… this, of… fucking cheating on the love of my life, my body is going to give the game up.”

Cody sighed and turned himself over to rest on his back, his arm coming to rest close enough to Noel’s that he could feel the man’s body heat. The intensity of his shame at how irresponsible he had been, in how impulsive he’d been, in how utterly brutal he’d been, was making him feel sure that he’d be waking up soon to get relief from this nightmare. He brought his hands up to his face and rubbed vigorously, his regret compounded with the realization that he’d put himself right back into the intoxicated head space that made all this shit possible.

“There has to be something we can do, man,” Cody pleaded gently. “Like… god, I know that’s easy for me to say because I’m not physically marked by all this, but…”

Cody let another deafening silence fall between them as he realized he didn’t actually have a plan.

Noel sighed in exasperation. “I mean… what would we even… what could we even do? Would we go somewhere?”

Noel's voice sounded more ragged every time he spoke. Cody brought his arms across his own chest as he thought about this idea, gripping his shoulders in a way that made it look as though he was hugging himself.

“I guess that’s our only move here, right?” Cody wondered aloud. “Just fucking off for a week or two? We’d have to cancel a ton of shit and lie to Mahzahd and lie to our girlfriends simultaneously. I don’t know how we’d even pull that off.”

Noel continued to stare at the ceiling, his brow furrowed. Cody wasn’t even sure that Noel was listening until he abruptly broke the silence.

“I think… I think we might just have to own this, man,” Noel stated. “Running feels like it’s just delaying the inevitable. I mean, it sounds extra, but… what we had before... that simplicity, that brotherhood? We’ll never have that again, I don't think. This is going to change and maybe ruin everything that we built together. At the very least, it’s going to destroy everything that… that Aleena and I built together, too.”

Noel’s chin quivered slightly and he flexed his jaw.

Cody abruptly shimmied down the bed and pushed himself off. “No, I… I don’t accept this. I can fix this.” “Cody…”

Noel started, but the man was in the living room already, rummaging around like a rodent.

“Do you know where my phone is?” Cody called.

“I’m… I’m pretty sure I felt it in your pocket when… you know,” Noel replied, cringing.

“Fuck, you’re right. I’m a dumbass.”

Cody reemerged and leaned on his hip in the door frame, running one hand across his bare chest while holding his phone in the other.

“Can I borrow a shirt?” he asked.

“Sure,” Noel whispered. “In the top drawer. I have a yellow Stussy shirt that would probably fit you nicely.”

“I mean… probably most of your shirts would fit me, right?”

Noel ignored him. His desire to take part in Validate Cody Hour was at an all-time low. Cody found the fluorescent shirt Noel had mentioned and pulled it on.

“Kinda dope…” Cody said quietly to himself as he admired the fit in the mirror.

“Oh my god,” Noel whispered, bringing Cody back to reality.

Cody turned around and climbed back on the bed, sitting cross legged next to Noel. “I’m… I’m gonna figure this out, don’t worry. I can do this. This one stupid thing we did when we were fucked up shouldn’t dictate the course of our lives.”

Noel closed his eyes without a word. For several minutes the only sound in the room was their breathing.

“Noel, wake up,” Cody said, poking the man’s leg.

“I wasn’t asleep, Cody.”

“Okay, tell me if this makes sense to you. Lollapalooza literally starts next week in Chicago. Today’s the 25th, the first day of the festival is August 1st and it goes to the 4th. Let’s tell the girls that we have to go for work and that the trip is book-ended by press or some kind of video shoot or something to explain why we need to stay there so long. We can say someone else cancelled and that’s why it’s so last minute. And… I don’t know what we’d tell Mahzahd. We’d have to figure that out.”

“Mmm… wouldn’t Kelsey come with you on a trip like that? Chicago is dope and festivals are dope and school hasn’t resumed yet. Aleena would probably want to drop in, too. Also, we both know a shit ton of people in Chicago.”

Cody closed his eyes and let his head fall back. “Fuck. You’re right. Okay, let me think of something else.” Cody continued a Google deep dive while he talked to himself quietly. “Hmmm… okay, that could… huh, actually… hmmm, that sounds too nice… what about…” This continued for what felt like a lifetime to Noel, who had closed his eyes once again.

“Noel, wake up."

“Still wasn’t sleeping, man.”

“Music," Cody said excitedly. "We say we have an opportunity to work with some dope producer in Florida, but it’s in a shit hole town like Tallahassee, so nobody really wants to come with us.”

“Uhhh…” Noel thought about it, trying to identify the holes in the plot. “But we basically have a full EP done. Why would we spend the time and money travelling across the country?” Cody shrugged.

“Let’s, you know, say our plans changed. We want to release a full length now and room in this guy’s schedule opened up and it’s just, like, a ‘stars aligned’ kinda situation. It’s happened for us before.”

Noel found himself wanting desperately to entertain this idea.

“Okay, so that sounds like a good enough explanation to maybe justify a week or two away from our birds, but what do we do with Mahzahd? What do we do with our friends, especially Spock and Austin, who would know that there’s no producer there worth the expense, and who will for sure be able to tell if we come back with a beat that’s obviously been produced by you and not some elite producer?”

Cody stared at Noel as his brain worked on overdrive to process. “Okay, so, seems like there’s probably a nicer way you could have said the beat thing, but we can argue about that later. In terms of Spock and stuff… man, I don’t… I don’t know that they’d actually call us out. I think even if they were suspicious that something was up, they wouldn’t rock the boat over something that doesn’t really affect them.”

Noel still wasn’t sure. “Okay, that’s… seems risky, but okay, I could accept that. What about Mahzahd? How do we explain just fucking off for a week or two weeks or whatever?”

Cody shook his head. “I… I don’t know, let me look at our schedule again and think about this.” Cody got lost in his phone again. He intermittently sighed dramatically and rubbed his increasingly dry eyes with his dirty fingers before finally revealing a new plan.

“Noel, wake up.”

Cody tapped Noel with an outstretched foot. Noel grabbed the pillow next to him and threw it at Cody.

“Great, glad you’re up.”

“My fucking eyes were open,” Noel rasped.

“So, like I thought, our obligations aren’t that crazy. We have some tour meetings, I have an audition and a callback, you have some sound mixing sessions, and obviously we have the podcast, but… I don’t know. There’s nothing super important there. Like, it’s all important, but it’s all stuff that’s not actually that time sensitive, except maybe the auditions and callback, but we both know I never get shit because I don’t actually prepare.”

Noel shook his head. “I don’t… I don’t know, man. In some ways this feels even riskier than just coming clean. I think if we were upfront with Kelsey and Aleena there’s a faint possibility that they would take some pity on us. We were messed up, we’ve been overworked, like… I don’t know. It’s a long shot, I guess, but I know for sure they will never trust either of us in any capacity ever again if we try a scheme like this and it falls apart.”

Cody cradled his own face in his hands.

“Why does this feel so impossible?” he asked.

Noel wasn’t sure if the question was hypothetical or not.

“It doesn’t help that we’re both high again. We really are just two of the biggest dumbasses to ever exist."

Cody was still holding his head in his hands.

“My brain feels like it keeps speeding up and slowing down. It’s like… it’s like there’s stop and go traffic in my temporal lobe. The solution to our problem seems simple and then impossible at the same time.”

“That’s deep, Cody.”

Cody slid his phone into his pocket and sprawled out on the bed next to Noel again.

“Do you… do you really think Aleena would forgive you?” Cody asked gently.

Noel had his hands on his stomach now, gently running his hands over his own skin to comfort himself.

“I… I honestly don’t know. I want to say that this is different than if I’d had some kind of, like, full-blown affair or whatever. I know for sure she wouldn’t ride that shit out. But maybe she’d understand what happened here? I don’t know how, but… I mean, I’m still not really sure I understand what the fuck happened. I do know that she loves me. I know that she loves me, but I also know that she doesn’t really need me, you know? Not to the extent that she’d put up with this kind of bullshit if she had any remote reason to think it would happen again.”

Noel closed his eyes before continuing. “Fuck, dude. Even if Aleena did forgive me, there’s no way she would condone us continuing to be friends and working together… And I feel like this whole thing is extra fucked up, you know, because Aleena and I have kinda had this conversation before. Like, she knows about how I am and what I like, and sure, she’s not capable of being as rough as I want, but she gives me enough, you know? … That’s what I told her, and now, what, she’s going to think I lied to her? That there’s been a long con of me deceiving her and pretending like my needs were being met when they weren’t? Will she really believe that this is the first time you and I have done something like this?”

Cody was having a hard time following Noel. He was afraid to look at Noel’s face, afraid to see the depth of whatever he was drowning in. Instead, Cody watched Noel’s abdomen rise and fall slowly and focused on the way Noel’s fingers were twitching subtly.

Noel waited for some comfort or reassurance from Cody, but it never came. Eventually Noel turned to look at Cody.

“You think Kelsey would stay?”

Cody’s brow furrowed and he took a deep breath.

“Honestly? I think she probably would. She shouldn’t, and I don’t deserve to have her stick around, but I think she would. She already puts up with so much from me that I’m not sure this would be the thing to make her walk away. I definitely could be wrong, though. I could be very, very wrong.”

“I think…” Cody continued. “I think you’re right about this being the end of our friendship if they find out, though. In the universe where Kelsey doesn't immediately drop my ass, she would definitely only stay with me if she could, like, compartmentalize what happened between us as a onetime thing, you know? She’d probably make me never drinking again and me no longer working with you be conditions of her sticking around.”

“Fuck, man,” Noel whispered. “Is Tallahassee really our only move if we want any chance of our lives as we know them not totally falling apart on some level?”

"I mean, it doesn’t have to be Tallahassee…” Cody countered.

“No, I know, but something like that. For a second there I had resigned myself to telling Aleena, but now I’m not sure if that even makes sense. There are so many variables and possible devastating outcomes here.”

Cody pulled a knee up and rested his head on it, continuing to look at his phone.

“Should we just do it? Should I buy us tickets? We’d have to leave in like the next 48 hours to avoid Aleena.”

Noel brought both of his hands to his face and covered his eyes.

“God, I don’t… did we ever figure out what the fuck to do about Mahzahd? Like, we talked about our schedule, but what do we actually tell her?”

Cody shook his head. “I don’t… I mean, she works for us just as much as we work for her, right? Can’t we just tell her, like, 'Sorry, but we’re burnt out. We need a vacation.’?”

Noel thought for a moment and then lifted his hands from his face as he had a revelation.

“Cody… Cody, let’s just fucking tell Mahzahd what happened, dude.”

“Wait, what?” Cody was visibly taken aback. “Why the fuck would we do that?”

Noel shook his head and used his arms to push himself up so he could sit face to face with Cody. He hissed as his skin stretched as he pulled himself into a cross legged position.

“Think about it. She wouldn’t tell Aleena and Kelsey or anyone else. It wouldn’t be in her best interest to destabilize our lives."

Cody closed his eyes.

“Dude, I don’t… God, isn’t it worse to go and involve someone else in this? She’d just be more collateral damage.”

Noel reached out and put his hand firmly on Cody’s knee.

“We’re way past that now, dude. Think about it. She’s inherently going to be impacted by any choice we make.”

Cody stared blankly at Noel’s hand on his knee.

“Fuck… god dammit. I hate it when you're right. Fuck.”

Cody flopped backwards on the bed and brought his hands to his head to pull on his own hair. Noel wasn't going to back down from this.

“I know the idea of it is horrifying, but this is a good thing, man. She can help us. We won’t have to lie to her and we won’t have to worry about maintaining different narratives with different people. We would only have to protect our girlfriends from the truth.”

Cody chuckled darkly. “God, protecting your girlfriend from the truth that you fucked your best friend is so messed up.”

Noel sighed. “I mean… if it makes you feel any better, I don’t know that I’d describe what we did as ‘fucking’ necessarily.”

“Wow, good call. That does make me feel better, Noel,” Cody mocked.

Noel pressed ahead. “What time is it anyway? Is it too late to call Mahzahd?”

Cody lifted his phone to show Noel without sitting up.

“Okay, it’s earlier than I thought. Let’s just fucking call her, man."

“Oh my god, dude,” said Cody. “I can’t… even if this is the move, I can’t do this right now.”

Noel sighed again. “I’ll do it myself. Can I use your phone?”

Cody unlocked his phone without sitting up and tossed it to Noel.

Noel dialed Mahzahd and put the call on speaker, turning the volume up. Cody groaned.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe we’re-"

The ringing clipped and Mahzahd’s voice broke through.

_“Hello?”_

“Hey Mahzahd, this is actually Noel, I’m here with Cody. How are you?”

“_Oh, hey Noel. I’m doing okay, about to sit down for dinner. How’s it going with you guys?”_

“Uhh…” Noel glanced at Cody, now literally pulling his own hair out. “It’s- it’s going, yeah. Uh, sorry to call you so late. I actually needed- well, we actually needed to talk to you about something that can’t wait until Monday… Do you want to call us back a little later when you’re done eating? I don’t want your food to get cold.”

_“Oh, no, it’s okay, it’s actually a big salad so it getting cold isn’t an issue. What’s up?”_

“Uh… so… fuck, I did not think about how I was going to say this before I called. Uh…”

Noel felt his nerve slipping away as he let silence hang on the line.

_“What… oh my god, what happened? Did one of you get arrested? Are you okay?”_

“Oh, n- no. It’s nothing like that, uh…”

“It’s worse than that, Mahzahd!” Cody yelled dramatically, still on his back.

_“Oh my god, what?!”_

“No, it’s- Jesus, Cody - it’s not, it’s not worse than that. We, uh… fuck, Mahzahd. We… we hooked up.”

Noel closed his eyes and braced his forehead with his hand.

_“Huh? … Why does… with who?”_

“What? We- like, me and Cody hooked up.”

_“…oh gosh, you guys. Does anyone else know? How old were they? They weren’t fans, were they?”_

Noel covered the microphone and laughed quietly to himself at the absurdity of this conversation.

“No, Mahzahd. Like, Cody and me, just Cody and me, like we had… we hooked up, like together, like we had sexual contact, the two of us.”

_“Oh…”_

“It wasn’t technically sex!” Cody yelled again.

_“O… kay…”_

Noel waited for Mahzahd to say something else.

_“Guys, I gotta be honest: I don’t love this bit, and I don’t really get it. Is this for a video? I’ve told you before I don’t mind you using me for a bit but I just need a heads up.”_

Noel sighed in exasperation and held the phone at arms length with both hands, pretending like he was going to break it in half before bringing it back in front of him.

“No, I… Mahzahd, this isn’t a bit. We fucked up. We fucked up bad. There’s like… there’s like evidence on my body that we… you know.”

_“What? Noel, what do you mean there’s evidence on your body? God, this is seriously a very weird bit, you guys. I don’t have a funny reaction for you because this concept is so twisted to me.”_

Cody propped himself up on his elbows.

“Oh god, how did it not occur to us that this would seem like a prank?” Cody whispered softly.

“I… okay, hold on a second, Mahzahd.”

Noel muted the microphone.

“Cody, what do- should I take a pic of my back?”

Cody shook his head and sat all the way up, seemingly having resigned to the discomfort of this situation.

“Just facetime her, man. I don’t… I wouldn’t take a picture. She probably wouldn’t believe it was real, anyway. I can- I can video your back or whatever.”

Noel unmuted the call.

“Hey, sorry - can I facetime you?”

Mahzahd sighed. _“Uh, I guess? I just wish you guys would have given me a heads-up. My hair looks-" _

The audio cut out as the trill of the facetime ring started. Mahzahd accepted the invite as Noel turned on another light in the room.

“Can you see me?” Noel asked.

_“Yeah, I- what’s up with your neck?”_

Noel motioned for Cody to come and take the phone.

“Hey, Mahzahd,” Cody said. “We realize now that this probably does seem like a joke, so… here. This is… this is what we we’re talking about.”

Mahzahd furrowed her brow and Cody flipped the camera on the phone, stepping back to show the length of Noel’s body.

_“What- is that real?”_

“Noel, I’m going to touch your back, okay?” Cody said softly.

Noel nodded. Cody pressed two fingers against a welt as he captured the man’s back. Noel winced, but it worked the way Cody anticipated: the redness and swelling abated for a brief moment before rebounding.

_“Holy… shit, you guys.”_

Cody flipped the camera back to show his face and moved to sit on the bed.

_“Holy shit, I can’t believe this is for real. Do you have those marks too?”_

Cody shook his head. “No, just… just Noel. And he has the thing on his neck, which you saw, and also his lip is swollen and a little split.”

Cody watched Mahzahd move around her kitchen while she kept the phone focused on her face. He heard her open the fridge door and place something inside.

“_Salad is, uh… gonna have to wait, I think. So, like… you guys are both gay, then?”_

Cody grimaced. “No, it’s… it’s complicated. We’re not gay and we don’t want to leave our girlfriends or anything like that. This is just an isolated, like, fluke thing that happened.”

Cody looked away from the phone for a moment to see that Noel was digging through his drawer to find a shirt. Someone else seeing his marks had made Noel feel exposed. He pulled on a long-line grey cotton shirt that hit him mid-thigh and Cody made a mental note to roast him for it.

_“Okay, so if you’re not gay… what kind of drugs are you guys on that made you do this?”_

“Um… nothing- nothing hard, honestly. We just drank alcoholic kombucha and hit Noel’s bong.”

_“…right ...okay. Listen, Cody. You know I love you and you’re one of my favorite clients so I don’t mean to bust your balls here, but like… you’re telling me alcohol and weed made two straight men have violent sex?”_

“That’s not… that’s not really what I’m saying. Also, we didn’t really, like, have sex, per se.”

Mahzahd sighed.

_“Okay, I can’t… okay. Let’s move on. So, is this… is this just something you needed me to know because it’s going to interfere with Noel’s ability to work this week?”_

Cody nodded. “Uh, yeah, um… especially because we’re actually going to have to go away completely until Noel is healed up in order to prevent Aleena from seeing it. Probably gonna need about two weeks.”

_“Oh, fucking yikes, guys. Excuse my language, but... yikes. That’s a long time to be away on short notice when you already have commitments.”_

“We know. Trust me, we know.”

Cody was struggling to look at the screen of the phone. He picked invisible lint off of his shirt. Mahzahd shook her head in disbelief.

_“Okay, I… okay. I’ll, you know, I’ll clear your schedule, okay? I can do that for you. Um… that being said, I’m not going to get involved in whatever you do for the next two weeks. I don’t want my hands in whatever is going on with you guys. You’re on your own in terms of… you know, wherever you go, whatever you do.”_

“Yeah, no, that’s… we didn’t expect you to magic wand this. We just couldn’t figure out a way to keep you in the dark that didn’t increase the chances of this whole thing blowing up in our face.” 

_ “I understand, and obviously, you know… It sucks to do it because we’ve grown to be friends, but I can vouch for whatever you end up doing in the event that it comes up with Aleena and Kelsey, and I guess whoever else. Just send me a vague itinerary whenever you figure out what you’re doing.”_

Noel had sat on the bed next to Cody and he fell backwards in relief.

“Oh, thank fucking god,” he whispered.

“Okay, yeah, we can definitely do that,” Cody said. “Sorry for springing this on you on a Friday night and, you know, interrupting your salad or whatever.”

Mahzahd chuckled. _“Yeah, I… you know, I should probably be mad. Not for the call, obviously, but for the bomb you dropped on me regarding the schedule. But I have a feeling you guys are really going through it right now and are already beating yourselves up, so… I hope you have a better weekend, and, uh… I guess I’ll be looking out for that email in the next couple of days.”_

“Sounds good, Mahzahd. Thanks for… thanks for everything. You’re the best.”

_“All right. No worries. Good night.”_

“Good night,” Cody and Noel said in unison.

Cody flopped back onto the bed. His arm overlapped with Noel’s and their thighs were flush, but neither of them cared enough or had the energy to move.

“That… went as well as we could have expected, I guess,” Noel said softly.

“Yeah, I… I guess so. I guess the next thing we have to do is just plan the shit. We should probably have a shared story and idea of what we’re doing before we tell the girls, right?”

“Yeah, I’m… definitely not telling Aleena until I know exactly what we’re doing. You up to doing the planning tonight?” Noel asked.

“God, I’m…" Cody yawned. "I’m really not. I feel like someone replaced my brain with a bunch of baby chicks. Just opened that shit up and *pop* *pop* *pop*.”

Noel looked at Cody through lidded eyes and laughed softly.

“That makes no fucking sense which I guess illustrates your point.”

“Would it be crazy if I crashed here?” Cody asked.

“Not crazier than anything else that has happened in the last, like, 10 hours.”

Cody texted Kelsey to let her know and threw the phone out of reach on the bed. The silence that enveloped them finally felt comfortable.

“That shirt is ridiculous, by the way,” Cody said faintly to Noel. “It looks like a dress Kelsey would get at Forever 21.”

Noel was willing himself to get up and turn the lights off but he couldn't do it.

“You’re a whole-ass bitch, I hope you know that,” he told Cody.

“We both know you’re a bitch, too. I guess that’s why we’re friends.”

“Well, I’m glad you could come to my sleepover, bitch,” Noel murmured, his voice collapsing from fatigue.

Cody’s eyes drifted shut.

“Me too, bitch. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”


End file.
